Resolution

"Those who gave thee a body, furnished it with weakness; but He who gave thee Soul, armed thee with resolution. Employ it, and thou art wise; be wise and thou art happy."
Akhenaton

The Silver Lining

"Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold."

Maurice Setter

The Light of Unity

"So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth."

Bahá'u'lláh

Reach for the Stars

"Reach for the stars, even if you have to stand on a cactus."

Susan Longacre

Unhappiness

Unhappiness is best defined as the difference between our talents and our expectations. 

Edward de Bono, Observer, 12 June 1977

Sing a Song

Those who wish to sing, always find a song. 

Swedish Proverb

Christmas Greeting from Mark Twain

"It is my heart-warmed and world-embracing Christmas hope and aspiration that all of us, the high, the low, the rich, the poor, the admired, the despised, the loved, the hated, the civilized, the savage (every man and brother of us all throughout the whole earth), may eventually be gathered together in a heaven of everlasting rest and peace and bliss, except the inventor of the telephone."
Mark Twain, Christmas greeting, 1890

An Injured Friend

"An injured friend is the bitterest of foes."Thomas Jefferson

As we celebrate the holiday season, now is the time to seek out and forgive family, friends and co-workers who may have wronged us. It is also the time to ask for forgiveness from those who we may have hurt or wronged through the year.

On the eve of Christmas, it is time to remember that forgiveness is the embodiment of the entire holiday. For those of us who follow Christ, who are already forgiven of our sins, we must embrace forgiveness if we are to follow a Christ-like life.

As I saw on a local church billboard:

"All saints have a past

And all sinners have a future"

Allowing an injury to fester for another day, week, month, year is abhorrent to the Christian life. Seek out and reestablish your relationships with your loved ones.

Your Family

"You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them."
Desmond Tutu

All Is Well With You

"Say you are well, or all is well with you,

And God shall hear your words and make them true."

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Happiness Is an Attitude

"Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong.  The amount of work is the same." 

Francesca Reigler

Bring Your Own Sunshine

"Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine." 

Anthony J. D'Angelo, "The College Blue Book"

Honesty

"Honesty is never seen sitting astride the fence." 

Lemuel K. Washburn, "Is The Bible Worth Reading And Other Essays", 1911

A Candle

"Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life."
Buddha

Make a Difference

"Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does."

William James

Wisdom

"A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool."

William Shakespeare

God Writes the Gospel

"God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars."

Martin Luther

The Humble Work

"Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work."

Mother Teresa

To See Through the Eyes of Another

"The only true voyage of discovery … would be not to visit new landscapes, but to possess other eyes, to see the universe through the eyes of another, of a hundred others, to see the hundred universes that each of them sees."
Marcel Proust

Who Is Going to Heaven?

"We may be surprised at the people we find in heaven. God has a soft spot for sinners."

Desmond Tutu

Abraham Lincoln and Democracy

"As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy."

Abraham Lincoln

About Labor

"All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence."
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Be Happy

"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion."
Dalai Lama

How to Learn Wisdom

"By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest."
Confucius

Deeds

"When deeds speak, words are nothing."
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon

A Wise Man

"A wise man is superior to any insults which can be put upon him, and the best reply to unseemly behavior is patience and moderation."

Moliere

Every Moment

"Every moment and every event of every man's life on earth plants something in his soul."
Thomas Merton

Change Your World

"Change your thoughts and you change your world."
Norman Vincent Peale

Act

"However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do you if you do not act on upon them?"
Buddha

Giving

I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.
Maya Angelou